Two Parts to a Whole
by AlmostAlpaca
Summary: After being brought back, Roxas and Naminé return to their worlds to rediscover the purpose they lost as nobodies, and live the lives they dreamed of as people with hearts. But perfect copies of themselves created by a scientific error force the two to face one of their greatest challenges: the right to exist and the ordeal of existing.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Please enjoy

Chapter 1

...

_The initial theory in the reconstruction of Roxas and Naminé consisted of three parts: The Heart, the Memories, and the Body. The Heart remained inconclusive because Roxas's heart resided in Sora and we will later learn that Naminé's heart resided in Kairi. Without the power of waking or other extreme measures, we could not extract the two's hearts from their current place. If we could, the next problem would be finding a vessel to hold these hearts. Before Even's research, we had no means to obtain or create a vessel. We did not have the equipment or research to bring Roxas and Naminé back to the world._

_The reason for going forward with the research in memories was to prepare when researchers could solve the problems with the safe releasement of the hearts and creation of the body for a vessel. The timing of Sora's power of waking and Kairi's violent release of the hearts in her body solved the issues surrounding the release of hearts from their current place. Even's unexpected change of heart gave us the vessel needed for Roxas and Riku brought back another vessel from their battle with Xehanort for Naminé. All three variables were in place but the reconstruction of Roxas and Naminé took a different route than what researchers expected._

_\- Ienzo_

…

In the horizon, the sun warmed the sky until it turned into a color some would say orange and others would say red. White clouds moved through the sun's reach giving the illusion that time was moving with the sky. But in Twilight Town, the world did not rotate on an axis like the other worlds. Instead it rocked upwards and downwards creating time that moved between the edge of a sunset and a sunrise for Twilight Town. Unfortunately, the sun left the other third of the world in perpetual darkness but it was more of a blessing than a curse. People had a choice to live in the soothing night or calm twilight. The other third of the world where the sun is always high in the sky had no land, just a boundless ocean.

To any onlooker who lived in a place where day and night move the world forward, Twilight Town may seem like a strange place where no one could sleep right and would need a watch to keep track of time. But for people like Roxas who had a home here, it was the perfect place with everything where they should be and the sun, acting like an artist and the sky its canvas, keeping the soul in awe with its masterpiece.

The Usual Spot, found behind the alleyway in the shopping district, is a place where businesses dump old things and where friends like to loiter. There are not many quiet places in Twilight Town and what made this one unique was that Hayner managed to convince the trash guys to leave the couch in the same place with a note explaining how this comfortable couch completed their hangout place. He left a thank you note a week later when they found the couch still there. They did the same with the old beat up dart board the bar got rid of and even a nameless crate they grew fond of as a table. With enough chairs and decorations left as trash, they made a homely place they call a spot. But a note left by the trash guys told them they would get in trouble if they leave any more things so the Usual Spot became static enough to earn a well thought out name.

Roxas sat on a worn-out bench too shy to be in public. To his left was Hayner sitting on the tallest stack of boxes with Pence sitting on the bottom layer going through his phone. Adjacent to them was Xion and Olette sitting on the couch switching between chatting with each other and listening to Hayner talk. On the other corner was Isa looking around and wondering why a place full of trash is the spot and Lea trying to calm him.

"You know, it's kinda unfair that you two don't go to school." Hayner said. He directed that at Lea and Isa.

"I'm old – we're old. We're not taller than you guys 'cuz we're taller, we're older. Been to school and not doing it over again." Lea said.

"Maybe if we really wanted to." Isa said.

"Yeah, 'cuz I wanna look like the kid who got held back a generation." Axel made a cheeky laugh and Isa smiled and shook his head.

"Huh. Are we allow to hang out with adults?" Hayner asked.

"Oh it's fine." Olette said.

"Yeah, makes us cooler. We get to say we know some college guys, or… how old are you two?" Pence asked.

"Do you mean how old we are now or how old we feel?" Isa asked.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette looked at each other then at Roxas and Xion who were smirking. Lea took his turn of breaking a smile through a disapproving head shake.

"Good job, turned an easy question to a nut cracker. Right answer was however old those college kids are. C'mon." Lea said.

"You guys are so weird." Xion said.

"You're weird." Lea said back.

"No, no, no, are you guys really adults?" Hayner asked.

"Want a birth certificate?"

"Yeah, or help with algebra homework."

"Tough luck, can't do either."

Hayner shrugged his shoulder and did a quick eye roll.

"Adult doesn't mean being able to do algebra or calculus. If that was the case, we'd all be in trouble." Olette said.

"I could… help." Xion said.

"Hey I found the adult around here." Pence said.

The Usual Spot came to life with endless chatter and laughs bouncing off the walls. Poking fun at each other, jumping in with the right words, or just sitting back and watching friends go on and on and burn the day away, Roxas looked at his friends and thought, it was this. Sora fought his way home to return to a place like to this. Roxas did the same. To feel a home close when it felt so far away for so long, he couldn't believe he could stand here when there was a time he thought his existence was never meant to be.

Roxas got up from the bench and everyone turned their head to him. "That's all for me. I still have to unpack the luggage in my home." He said.

"Please, not like you have a roommate who gonna nag you 'til you do." Lea said. He looked at Isa who threw him half eyes.

"You don't have a roommate Roxas." Olette said. "Doesn't it blow? Can't believe how much I was missing out until Xion came along."

Xion smiled at Olette and said, "Why don't you find a roommate?"

"Want mine?" Pence asked.

"Hey!" Hayner said.

"You always wake me up early with your pull-ups and jump ropes and, whatever."

"And you never came to school late because of that. Thanks Hayner. You're welcome Pence."

"Uh huh. Thanks."

"I think, I like it without a roommate." Roxas said.

"It's 'cuz he sleeps naked." Lea said.

"… Freak." Isa said.

"You're a freak."

Roxas took the last laugh and said, "Okay, see you guys later."

Everyone said their goodbye and Roxas left.

Roxas glanced at his watch and read the late afternoon. The market streets still had a few people wandering around. Many of them and Roxas walked towards the direction of the Trams Market where the Grand Bistro, Movie Theater, and several shops were. It was a big place that needed a tram to navigated through town to get people around faster. Though today Roxas preferred the walk.

Near a shop selling building materials manned by ducklings were two women who often talked about their kids. Roxas saw these two in the same spot and enough times that he knows one of their kid graduated with honors from elementary school, the other kid sprained his ankle falling from a tree, and the mother with the honorary kid buys fish, walnuts, and other brain foods so he'll one day be a doctor, or an astronaut, or what kids with big brains do these days. He passed by wondering if the ladies were beginning to recognize him too.

The walkway had beds of flowers placed to lure romantic couples to sit on the benches near them or entice the occasional butterfly passing by. On the brick walls by the movie theater, a young man about the age of Roxas was slapping posters into the wall. Roxas walked by and saw it was for a special going on at the Grand Bistro, ratatouille twenty percent off. He passed by the theater and saw bright lights flashing at its audience and heard a goofy tune with an occasional burst of laughter from children.

Roxas's apartment building stood at five levels with three apartments on each floor. It was very different from his other friend's homes who lived in the suburban area in Sunset Terrance. It was quieter over there but the sound of the trams rolling by or the people moving in and out the pizza place next door never bothered Roxas. To him, the twilight in the distance was brighter in the hustle everyone brought to the market streets.

The apartment broke down into two beds or one bed. Roxas considered two beds and looking for a roommate but one bed was what he really wanted. He opened the door to his small home. He came into the minimalist kitchen with a tiny living room behind it with a two-seater couch and one single seat couch watching a TV. Roxas went across the living room to open the blinds and window to let more light through. He went through his bedroom door and saw a bag of clothes he needed to organize and another smaller bag to help make his home feel like one.

He was going to do what he said he would, but went to his living room and sat on the two-seater couch instead. He was going to turn the TV on, but stared out the window instead. Roxas lived on the top floor and his window faced the direction of the Old Mansion. As his eyes followed to the horizon, he saw the green wilderness fade into a blue smear that was the ocean. Where the ocean met the orange sky, Roxas saw small buildings that were resorts for the beach. He remembered his last time here, how he missed that chance and wondered if it might come around again.

Roxas glanced at his watch to make sure it wasn't getting too late. By the time he noticed the light grow dimmer outside, it would already be twelve PM. The day wasn't over yet but he took his time looking out the window. He saw a lot of different worlds and through those worlds, he realized there wasn't any world waiting for him. The sun bled its color into the sky and gave the air its warmth that reached out to him. _Thank you_, Roxas thought. He longed for a home and this world welcomed him. _Thank you._

...

The sea pushed itself with the direction of the wind, like friends trying to race each other to a nonexistent destination. The quiet wind sung its voice with the sound of ocean waves that were inescapable to the inhabitants of Destiny Island. The world broke down into several different islands. The people civilized the larger islands with buildings and treated the smaller islands like parks, people boat to them and even build their homes there if the mayor allowed it. The fractured land in this world meant the damp smell of seawater crept wherever it pleased, but also that there was a beach almost everywhere. The weather was either the perfect ratio of sun and wind or pouring disasters in random locations clouds decide to smite. But the people here made the best of it.

Kairi visited her favorite island on days where a friend could accompany her. It was a special place for many people but felt desolated if only one person was there alone. However, Naminé stayed with her after everyone left. With someone always around, she was able to go to the island every day.

When they arrived, Kairi took Naminé to the center of the island where a gap in the mountains led to a cave. It was dark and the damp walls made inside feel humid. At the end of the cave was a large wooden door and on the walls were chalk drawings. Kairi walked to the wooden door that had a keyhole in the center of it. She put her hand on it and pushed feeling the locked door push back.

"Where it all started." Kairi said.

"They're behind there." Naminé said. "I can feel them."

"Oh don't worry."

Kairi walked away from the door and to the walls with the chalk drawings. The drawings made with white and colored chalk covered every corner of the walls. They ranged between crude pictures as if someone bad at Pictionary was here, to child like scribbles of various things. A stick figure fighting off a dragon, a boat sailing into the sun, a field of flowers in the middle of nowhere. One picture drew Kairi in. It was of a boy with spiky hair and a girl with short red hair, both facing each other and giving the other a star shaped fruit.

"A lot of kids came through here before us. They were safe but, I guess we were in the wrong place in the wrong time when that door opened." Kairi made a sign and ran her hand through the drawing. "Or maybe it was fate."

Naminé came to look closer at the picture. "That star you two are holding in your hands, what is it?" She asked.

"It's a Papou Fruit. If you share it with someone, the two of you will be a part of each other's life forever." Kairi said. "Can't tell you if it really works yet."

"I'm sure it does."

After admiring the drawing, the two walked out of the cave.

"Want to try a Papou Fruit?" Kairi asked.

"We probably don't need one. We're more connected than you realize." Naminé said.

"I mean to eat. They're pretty good."

The two shared a smile and wandered the island until they found a good place to sit. They ended up on the edge of a walkway platform facing the sand. Behind them was a small waterfall adding to the melody of water that hovered over the surface of the island. Kairi took off her flip-flops and stamped her footprints in the sand. Naminé took off her sandals to do the same. There they sat together watching the waves and soaking in the sun. In each of their hand was part of a Papou Fruit.

"When Xehanort attacked you, I felt some of it." Naminé started.

"I see. I'm sorry you felt that." Kairi said.

"No, I mean I felt your fear, your pain. It made me worry. And when King Mickey asked if you wanted to continue being a Keyblade Guardian, I felt it again."

"… Do you feel everything I feel?"

"Just the really strong ones."

"… When Xehanort struck me, I felt everything. It hurt, I felt myself fade away, I could see everything and everyone I fought for disappear. It was like falling into a void and the deeper I fell, the more intense that pain was, like someone was torturing me to make me let go. I still remember it and I know if I hold my Keyblade again, it'll come back and I don't know what good I'll be when it does. I know I'm letting people down – "

"No one thinks badly of you. We understand and I believe you can overcome this. If you want to, one day you'll be able to use the Keyblade again." Naminé said. "Maybe you just need time. You have plenty of it now."

"Thanks." Kairi said. "But you know, I can feel what you're feeling too."

"Oh?"

"I thought I felt a little hesitation when Ansem asked if you want to study under him. You have talent in those complicating stuff."

"No, not yet at least." Naminé said.

"Something on your mind?"

Naminé looked down trying to find the right words. She drew a circle in the sand with her toe while she thought. Kairi kept stamping the same place with her footprint.

"I felt that!" Kairi said while swinging her head up with surprise and gripping Naminé's attention.

"Felt what?" Naminé asked.

"Wow, that was so subtle. I thought it was my own thoughts for a second.

"…"

Kairi looked back at Naminé who gave her a look with one eyebrow shot up. "Oh sorry. But… we're you thinking of Sora for a second?"

Naminé shook her head. "No."

"Huh… then… who we're you thinking of? Were you thinking of a person even?"

"Sort of."

Kairi grabbed Naminé's arm and pushed her cheek on her shoulder. "Tell me who." She asked.

"Tell you what?" Naminé asked.

"Tell me who you're thinking of. Pleeeease."

"Umm…"

Naminé couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. The best she could do was help Kairi figure it out herself. "So… there was a nobody – "

"Roxas." Kairi said. Naminé looked surprised. "I, don't think it'd be Lea. But you know he's just in Twilight Town. If you ask, someone could take you there."

"No, it's not like that." Naminé said. She went back to drawing circles with her feet. "You think of Sora often. You've been thinking of him more since he's been gone. I'm sorry… I know you probably want to keep that to yourself, but I just… feel it."

"It's okay. I'd tell you anything really."

Naminé broke a light smile and continued. "I feel what you're feeling and I start thinking… But I don't know if it's real even. If you and I weren't so connected, would I still be feeling the same thing?"

Kairi turned her head to the sea to think about what Naminé said. "I think I understand. So, could what you're feeling be because of me? Would it help if I stopped thinking about Sora for a few minutes?"

"I don't think that's possible."

"Hmm, maybe I'm thinking of Sora so often because it's actually you making me think it." Kairi said with a grin.

"No, my feeling is subtle." Naminé said back with a smirk.

"Well maybe you're blaming the feeling on me but it's really just you all along."

Naminé shook her head and leaned back a little with her hand pushing on the walkway ground and a repressed grin. Kairi stamped her foot into her sand like she won and made a big grin with her tongue pushing out under her teeth.

"It's weird, what we have between us." Naminé said.

"I like it. It's like we always are able to understand each other." Kairi said.

"Yeah. I'm glad it's with you."

"Me too." Kairi said. "So Twilight Town, I bet you can ask Merlin. He wouldn't be nosy."

Naminé looked into the distance. The sun was starting to set and an orange sky moved into the blue like the ocean tide into the sand.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

...

_The heart contained memories. This disproved our initial theory as the reconstruction of Roxas and Naminé needed only two variables, the heart and the body. Observing Roxas and Naminé, we find that they both remembered their experience as nobodies. We also received reports that Sora while holding Roxas and Ventus, experienced the memories of their hearts in meeting with their old friends in Twilight Town (Roxas) and wanting to save Aqua (Ventus). The heart contained the essence of their being which included their memories. This may be a unique circumstance but brings additional theories about the significance of the heart. With regards to the findings, the heart and memories are parts of a whole. Could they exist independently of each other? Does one part have priority over the other or are they mutually exclusive? Could a change in memories affect the heart and vice versa? Additional research regarding the state of the heart is needed before considering the implications this finding asks. _

-_Ienzo_

…

It took an alarm to wake Roxas up and tell him it was morning. He rolled over to his side and looked at his alarm clock to make sure it was waking him up at the time he told it to, as if the alarm also overslept and woke up Roxas in a panic. It was the first day of school and he didn't want to be late. He climbed out of his bed and used the mild nightlight he put near his window to navigate to his window. The heavy curtains he used blocked all light coming in opened and let the twilight back into his room. He stretched his arms back and yawned.

One thing he regret for choosing to live on the market streets was that the school was on the other side of town in Sunset Terrace. He had to wake up early to walk to the station so he wouldn't miss the train that would take him to school on time. As he walked through the streets early in the morning, he passed very few people. Strangers he did pass waved at him with a half-asleep body and Roxas returned it like they agreed without talking that it was too early. But he enjoyed walking in the street, normally populated with someone around the corner or walking by his side with places to be, that was isolated with an eerie quiet to not wake the town up yet.

As Roxas reached the station, he saw a blonde old man standing near the entrance of the station. He recognized the man and stopped moving. The old man felt a presence in the empty plaza and turned to see who sent the ripples through the calm air.

"Roxas." The old man said.

"What are you doing here Ansem." Roxas said.

"I would like to have a word with you."

"I have to catch this train."

"Then we shall talk in the train."

Roxas didn't say anything. Ansem didn't forget what he put him through and realize his urgency made him step out of his bounds. "If, that's okay with you." Ansem said.

This was a chance to tell him no, but Roxas decided that if Ansem was here, it was for a good reason. If someone needed him somewhere, Roxas wouldn't turn them down. "Yeah."

The two sat in the train with three other passengers. They took the seats on the far end and spoke softly to not draw any attention. The two sat across from each other as the train took off.

"How is it in Twilight Town?" Ansem started.

"Better than the other one." Roxas said.

Ansem made a slight chuckle though he was unsure if he should be laughing. Roxas wasn't. The tension in the train made it harder to say what he came here to say. It was important and he only had however much time the train ride gave him.

"Ahem, Roxas. The reason I'm here is because I need to know if you encountered anything, strange." Ansem said.

"Like what?" Roxas asked.

Ansem couldn't tell him the truth of what happened, he knew Roxas would be furious. "I do not know what it is, only that it is, unordinary."

"Can't say I have."

"Good, but in case you do, you must contact me."

"Okay." Roxas shrugged.

It didn't sound reassuring to Ansem but there was no reason for Roxas to not do so. Once he realizes the gravity of what Ansem talked about, he would want answers from him. Through that they could find the missing vessels.

Once they finished speaking, Roxas dazed off and looked out the window. Ansem looked through the same window and saw the sunrise moving further away. There was some more time and Ansem felt that he had enough time to talk about other things. "I… apologized to Sora hoping you would hear me. But if you didn't, I – "

"I heard it."

"I see." Ansem said. He didn't expect forgiveness, but hoped an explanation will help ease the weight Roxas carried. "Revenge consumed me during that time. I built a deep hatred towards the beings that stole everything from me, the nobodies who wore human faces. But I see now, you did not ask for the fate that befell you. I could not stop it, but I made you suffer because of a misplace sense of justice I took towards you."

Roxas turned his head back to Ansem but couldn't look him in the eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Anger is not wrong to feel, but it becomes toxic when aimed at beings we cannot see or machines we cannot comprehend. If you feel as so, I wish to take responsibility. I brought this fate upon you, and I am sorry."

"You're not supposed to apologize for that." Roxas said. He rubbed the skin between his eyebrow. "What happened that made me and what happened to Sora during that time was no one's fault. If you want to apologize, apologize for being an ass."

"I see… I'm sorry for being needlessly cruel."

"Alright. I forgive you. Feel better?"

"I… thank you."

"Thank Sora. When I was a part of him, I remember feeling everything he felt. He's a nice guy, a little too kind and a bit ditsy, but I learned a lot from him, like how to forgive." Roxas went back to looking through the window. "He really was the better half in the end."

The train stopped and everyone got up to the door. Ansem stayed inside to take the train back to the station. He and Roxas waited until everyone left before saying their goodbyes.

"Best I head back." Ansem said.

"Alright. By the way, I said the same thing to Yen Sid, but if you need anything just ask." Roxas said.

"I will. Take care."

"Take care."

Roxas took off before the train door closed. Ansem went back to the spot he sat at and waited for the train to take him back. No one came onto the train from Sunset Terrace so he sat in silence with his thoughts. He wondered if Roxas and Naminé would forgive him if they found out what happened with their artificial memories and vessels. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Even when he thought everything was over, he brought grief to them. He knew deep in their newborn hearts, was a wish for him to disappear. He could feel it as it resonated with his own regrets. He returned to the Market Streets to make a final sweep to make sure the lost vessel of Roxas's memories did not wander to a home it didn't belong in.

The magic train in Twilight Town referred to a pair of train tracks that led into an unfinished wall. Only a selected few could see and use this odd purple train. To the inhabitants of Twilight Town, the magical train picking up passengers or dropping off travelers was normal. They knew the rails led to nowhere, but forgets that fact when the magical train was in service. This was because of a spell Yen Sid casted over Twilight Town, the train was always there and in service when it was working but the train tracks became an abandoned and unfinished work that people wondered why was still around.

There was no reason to be careful, but Naminé walked out of the magical train as if someone was waiting for proof that a spooky train was coming through walls and brought strangers from another world. The station was busy with people climbing in and out of the non-magical train, people shuffling through the ticket line, and pockets of people standing in different corners chatting away. Kairi shared her wardrobe with Naminé so instead of a pale white dress that would make her stand out, she wore shorts and a pale white t-shirt instead. She blended into the crowd of the station and pushed into the plaza to find some air.

In the distance where the sea met the sky Naminé thought she was seeing an illusion, something like a painted picture to stand in the distance to make this world feel real instead of finite. She walked to the ledge and could see the Old Mansion hiding behind a thicket of trees. So much happened in this town but she left no footprints here. She was a stranger when she left and a stranger when she came back.

Merlin gave Naminé directions and she trusted her memory of this town to find it. In the late afternoon, people crowded Station Heights coming from or going towards the Train Station. Only a few people stopped in front of the open shops, everyone else was in motion and no one could stop or else they become a traffic obstacle slowing the flow. She followed the dense crowd towards the Trams Market keeping her eyes straight through the person in front of her. Unlike the rural village of Destiny Islands, this place was a city. She saw so many faces and felt suspicious that they were all giving her a look to put her out of place, but enough faces passed that they all merged into a blank meaningless mess that could not harm her.

The crowd thinned at the Trams Market and Naminé slowed down to gain her bearings. The tram was stopping to pick up a batch of people and seeing how packed it became deterred her from climbing on. She took to walking the streets but couldn't help feel exposed. People greeting each other and buying something to eat, friends sitting at tables unwinding with city sounds, stragglers sitting at odd places on stairs and ledges chatting the day away, and why was she here? She was looking for some one and kept a steady pace to remind herself of it.

A stack of buildings looked like what Merlin described as "apartments", compact but livable. Naminé went inside and used the elevator to the fifth floor to look for Roxas's place. Room fifty-three, it was to her left as she walked out the elevator. She put her knuckles together to knock on the door but stopped before she hit it. Why was she here? A feeling she couldn't understand, absurd she thought. What would she get here? Answers she hoped, but nothing seemed like the answer she had for herself.

"Naminé?"

A voice turned her around and she recognized a boy she knew. He looked very different wearing a school uniform instead of the casual clothes he usually wore.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Roxas asked.

There was a plan to talk but something kept her from talking. It kept asking what she was doing here and took her voice. She opened her mouth about to say something but nothing came out.

It was weird for Naminé, but not so much Roxas. He went to the door and Naminé stepped out of the way. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Well come on in." He said.

Naminé went inside and Roxas followed closing the door behind them. The kitchen was spotless, the living room looked like a furniture display, and it seemed Roxas had no possessions. "It's a little plain, but make yourself at home. I'm gonna change."

Roxas went into his room and closed it behind him. He switched into his normal clothes and got out the room to find Naminé still standing by the door still. She was starting to look afraid of something. Roxas let it pass through him one more time and kept up the momentum.

"I'm going to meet up with the gang. Want to come with?" Roxas asked.

"Umm… no, sorry." Naminé said.

"Is… Is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

Silence again, Roxas thought it would be rude to flat out ask her what she was doing here. He thought of different ways of figuring out what could be wrong. "Did you need me for something?" He asked.

"No…" Naminé knew this was becoming ridiculous. She brought a fist to her chin and looked down trying to think of a good way to explain what she was here for. "I… I was hoping to talk to you, about something."

"Oh, okay. What is it?"

"It's… probably going to be a long talk. How about you go with your friends first and we'll speak later?"

"Sure, but… are you sure you don't want to come with? They're your friends too. I don't think you've met Hayner, Pence, or Olette, but you guys would get along."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm okay waiting here. I… would rather wait here actually."

"Okay." Roxas went to the fridge to check it. "There's uh, some stuff in the fridge. Help yourself to anything. I'll probably come back with some groceries later." He closed it and remembered a key he stuck to the fridge door with a magnet. "Oh and here's an extra key in case you need to go somewhere."

"Thanks."

Naminé gave him a smile but it didn't feel right to Roxas. Her lips arched up like a smile but her eyes focused on the person she smiled at. Roxas smiled back but Naminé could tell there was some worry she couldn't keep to herself.

Naminé followed Roxas to the door. Before Roxas closed it and left, he said, "Won't be long."

Naminé nodded and closed the door as he walked to the elevator. She locked the door and made a sign. She thought to herself, _why am I here?_

...

Hayner nibbled on the stick of his ice cream until the leftover sweet salt turned into cardboard. He got up from his spot and walked over to the little mini freezer in the corner. He tossed his stick into the black trash bag next to it and kneeled to open the fridge.

"Another one?" Olette tilted her head.

"I would, but that's all." Hayner said as he closed the fridge and stood back up. "I bet those trash guys been helping themselves too much."

"Be cool, or else they're gonna toss our couch." Pence said.

"Yeah, yeah."

The day made everyone more exhausted than usual. Hayner made deep signs at every sequence of steps he completed, Pence laid on his back on his spot almost asleep, and Olette pushed her body back into the couch she sat on. Some of the crew still had energy left though. Xion sat on the edge of her side of the couch with a bag over her shoulder and a paper packet in her hand.

"Are you guys part of any clubs?" Xion asked.

"The struggle club." Hayner said. "You could join, but we don't go easy on anyone."

"I should be okay, but… maybe I'll look around some more."

"Man I'd like to see that. Xion flying around in those struggle matches, putting 'em in the ground… Xion join the struggle club." Lea said as he walked behind the couch to see what was on the packet.

"I don't know."

"Well someone at least make Roxas join."

Hayner turned his head to Roxas sitting on a crate. "Roxas, join the struggle club." He said.

Roxas sucked his teeth. "Will they let me use two bats at the same time?"

"What? No."

"Ah, afraid I can't."

Roxas stood up from his crate and did a stretch upwards.

"Already?" Olette said.

"Yeah, I got to shop for some groceries. My fridge is looking sad." Roxas said.

"We'll come with." Hayner said as he jumped off his high spot. "Gotta buy some more ice cream anyway. Who's turn is it to buy?"

Hayner and Olette turned to look at Pence. Pence felt the eyes on him and said, "Technically yes, but our ice cream supply is going out faster because we have four new members. So I say the new members rock paper scissors it."

Lea shrugged and raised a fist upward while Xion did the same. Isa who leaned against the wall spoke before they had their match. "That is true, but you still haven't bought a turn. You are also going to rock paper scissors with us."

Pence shrugged. "Alright, fair enough."

Roxas, Pence, and Hayner stood in front of the freezer section of the supermarket at the Trans Market. Pence made a sign and reached in to grab a giant twenty-five count box of ice cream. "Hate rock paper scissors." He mumbled.

"Big guy buying the big box." Hayner said.

"Well those ten boxes aren't going to last us very long."

"Don't worry, we'll buy the big ones too when it's our turn." Roxas said. He also opened the fridge and grabbed a smaller ten count box of ice cream. "For home."

"You're gonna get fat." Pence said. "We're gonna check this out and bring it back to the Usual Spot. You gonna head back home after you're finish?"

"Yep."

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

"Later Roxas." Hayner waved as Pence and him went towards the checkout line.

"Later."

Roxas carried a basket as he navigated through people choosing what cereal to buy and if they really needed the strawberry shortcake hypnotizing any person with a weakness for sweets. He picked up a box of granola bars and fruit snacks and found Lea and Isa standing around the drink section.

"Should've made a list. Have no idea what to buy." Lea said.

"We could just keep eating out." Isa said.

"Ugh, I'm already starting to get sick of that." The two noticed Roxas come down their isle and waved at him. "What's a wholesome grocery pack Roxas?"

"I don't know, I never cook. I'm just grabbing snacks right now."

"Wow, guess none of us learned survival skills out there."

"Can't be too hard." Isa said. He pointed at a case of soda, a gallon of tea, or a bottle of juice. "Which one?"

"Tea. All this ice cream is starting to make me feel bad."

"Good start. We'll figure out the rest later."

Isa grabbed the gallon of tea and went towards the checkout line. Lea signed and followed. "Guess that means we're eating out again."

Roxas turned to the shelves Isa looked through and took a minute to decide what he should grab. He thought of Naminé and wondered which she'd get. She's very quiet, tranquil would be the word to describe her, same word that felt close to tea. But what if she wanted something colorful and bubbly? Or what if she was craving something sweet and heavy? Would she want something different or the same? That was a hard question because he didn't even know what she liked in the first place. He shrugged to himself and grabbed a case of soda. At the least, he was certain she wouldn't get angry at him for grabbing the wrong thing.

Roxas grabbed a loaf of bread along with jam and peanut butter near the produce section. The collection of scents from dry fruits, vegetables, and baked goods gave a short respite from the empty steel smell the other parts of the supermarket carried. Xion and Olette browsed the deli and Roxas joined them. The two looked through a cooled shelf with sandwiches, salads, and other quick to grab meals.

"You guys looking for something?" Roxas asked.

"Dinner. Thinking of just choosing something here." Xion said.

"Yeah, not really in the mood for trying too hard to find something. I don't know why, but I'm feeling a lot more tired since school started." Olette said. "How about you two?"

"First time I've been to school actually. I kind of like it." Xion said.

"Yeah, rather be doing this than what we used to do." Roxas said.

"Oh. Guess I'm weird one. Wait, what is it that you two did back then?" Olette asked.

"It's a long story, probably better to save it for another time, when you're not tired."

"If, you-say-so." Olette picked up a massive foot-long sub. "Xion?"

"Looks good."

Roxas reached over and to grabbed a foot-long sub as well.

"There's smaller one on the other side." Xion said.

"Yeah, it's…" Roxas stopped himself but picked his words back up before the stutter made it too obvious that he was hiding something. "… for tomorrow."

"Good idea. The bigger ones are cheaper anyway." Olette said. "That's all we need. Gonna keep shopping Roxas?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, see ya." Olette said.

"See ya Roxas." Xion said.

"See ya."

The two waved at Roxas as they went to the check out line. Roxas stayed behind although there wasn't anything else that he could think of to buy. He walked over to the bakery to pretend that he was browsing. While looking through fresh loafs of bread and muffins, he thought why his instincts told him not to let Xion know Naminé was here.

Roxas looked at his clock and read six PM. He took a lot longer than he expected and hurried his way home while holding a bag of groceries in each arm. He struggled to open his apartment door but refused to surrender a bag to the ground. He managed and brought the groceries inside, realizing Naminé was not here. He closed the door and brought the groceries to the kitchen. "Naminé?" He called out in the empty room. No one answered.

Roxas opened the door to his bedroom and found it empty. He knocked on the bathroom door and no one answered. He opened it to make sure and exited through the living room door from the bathroom. Naminé was nowhere to be found. He went to the kitchen to looked at the fridge door, the key was missing. He wondered where she decided to go.

The heavy curtains of the living room window reached towards Roxas with the slight wind pushing through. He walked over to look through the window and the first thing that caught his eye was the mansion. He looked back at his apartment and saw nothing moved, the pillows on the couch were in the same place, he counted the apples and bananas in the fruit basket and found it untouched, the only thing that moved was how much the window was open. He imagined Naminé standing in the same spot he stood, enjoying the sunset peeking into the sea, and seeing the mansion below her eyes. He felt something was wrong when he saw Naminé at his door and thought the mansion, the place she spent so much time in, drew her back with promises for comfort and answers. Roxas grabbed his keys and left out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

...

_ The research in memories were not fruitless and did yield significant results. But before researchers can address these findings, a matter of an ethical dilemma must be addressed. For Roxas and Naminé's memories reconstruction, we began entering all the information we had as data. These were base memories, how they were born, their time while they existed, their end. But we did not know everything and the data alone would not be enough. The memories had several gaps and if inserted in a vessel would cause confusion. The solution to this was to develop a thinking artificial intelligence, a program to use the significant memories and data to complete the rest. Small memories such as their favorite color, their routine, the ice cream they enjoyed, would fill in as the program made decisions and choices to restore missing memories. This was done in a feedback loop where researchers interacted with the program so the memories would develop in an almost natural sense. Researchers asked questions and the program would answer, creating memories in doing so._

_ Research in memories revealed a finding similar to what researchers found earlier, the memory and hearts are parts of a whole. As the program came closer to completion, it developed a personality. Researchers decided that these personalities mirrored the personality of the heart they would be paired with. Researchers also noticed the program developed emotions, or at least choices the mirrored emotions. In an interaction with the memory program, researchers recorded both Roxas and Naminé asking how much longer it would be until they obtain their body and heart. Strange how an artificial intelligence could feel without a heart, but Roxas and Naminé's heart existed somewhere in space and time and researchers did not consider the possibility that the heart and memory exist as one._

_-Ienzo_

…

There was only one building big enough for the people of Twilight Town to call a mansion. It was outside the town walls, uninhabited and abandoned for so long that many people think of it more as a relic than someone's home once. Roxas went through the sewers and walked close to the walls to avoid the thin line of something water running through the middle. He held his breath and took a deep breath covered by his arm to make it through. It was hard to believe Naminé went through here, although it was only a hunch that told him she was at the old mansion.

An open hatch took him outside and into the wilderness. Skewering trees climbing high and laying on the ground hid the fading trail that led to the mansion. The forest outside the walls was left alone to grow to however it pleased and it took the chance to return this forgotten piece of land to nature. The dry weather of Twilight Town could not make the forest glorious, but gave a good contrast to the urban town with soft grass instead of concrete walkways and tall trees instead of big buildings. Roxas thought what a shame it was that to reach this jeweled land, one would have to walk through the town's sewers.

At the gate of the mansion, Roxas saw a different Naminé. She stood outside the open gate wearing the pale white dress Roxas first saw her in. Though it was a more familiar Naminé, she felt different from the one who knocked on his door.

"Naminé." Roxas said as he walked closer.

"Here." Naminé said. Her voice sounded hollow, like this mansion was truly her home and now left to the mercy of nature. "I spent so much time here to piece back the memories I took apart from Sora. Strange how he could forgive me so easily, after I took so much away from him. I don't deserve to be his friend. Nobodies like us, preying on the people of the light, should never existed."

"What are you saying?"

Roxas walked to the side of Naminé and saw what she was hiding. She looked incomplete. Pixelated boxes twisting between different colors covered half of her face, her shoulder to her elbow, the right section of her abdomen, and the right side of her leg. The pixelated boxes rotated and swirled in place like it was trying to figure out what the missing pieces of her should look like.

Naminé turned her staticky figure to Roxas. "Kairi, Riku, Xion, you, I'm sorry."

"You did nothing wrong." Roxas said. Naminé stared at him with eyes nearing anguished tears. "What happened at Castle Oblivion was not your fault and no matter what you think, Sora, Kairi, all of us are your friends. And you're not a nobody anymore, you have a heart."

"I do?"

"You do."

"But… is Sora okay?"

"He's fine. And he wrote this down in a journal to remind himself, thank Naminé."

It seemed that Naminé lost her memory up to when Sora came back. Roxas, though existing as part of Sora, remembered his experiences as if he was Sora during those moments. Perhaps she didn't have the same connection with Kairi, Roxas thought.

"You don't look okay." Roxas said. "How about I take you back to Merlin or Yen Sid? They can help you."

Naminé turned her head back towards the mansion. It looked nothing Roxas said could comfort her. "I… want my sketchbook." She said.

"Okay. Let's go get it then."

Roxas started towards the mansion door and stopped when he passed the gate. He looked behind him and saw the pixels riddling her body churning and flashing different colors. She walked and carried the pixels with her.

The doors to the mansion opened, the lock being useless without a key. The two walked into the foyer that was a wide-open area with stairs at the end leading to the second floor. The color of the rugs hid beneath a layer of dust that grew a brown color. Mold grew on the hardwood floor where rain seeped from the ceiling, which also had a chain attached to the middle where a chandelier used to be. Many of the tables and chairs left behind were in broken pieces, smashed by bored vandals.

The two went to up the stairs and to the left where the white room was. The paint on the walls to their right was peeling and the meaningless portraits hanging on them faded into unrecognizable faces. At the door to the white room, Naminé placed her hand on the door knob and turned it. She opened it, took a step inside, saw something and stepped back. Roxas saw a terrified look on her face as she turned and ran past him.

"Naminé!" Roxas called out.

"Yes?"

The voice came from inside the white room. Roxas went inside the white room, a strange room with white clean walls and floors decorated with blue lines reminiscent of Castle Oblivion that was Naminé's first home. He turned to the voice inside and saw Naminé, this one wearing the white t-shirt and shorts, sitting at a corner with drawings surrounding her.

Roxas turned around and went back to the foyer to search for the other Naminé. He leaned onto the railing but didn't see anyone running. Was that Naminé a figment of his mind? Was he trapped in another simulation where data characters appeared and disappeared?

"Roxas." Naminé stood by the door and peeked over the railing to see what he was looking at. "Is everything okay?"

Roxas decided to put aside his confusion to not scare Naminé. "Yeah, thought I just… saw something. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just…" Naminé walked back into the white room and took a last look. "… Nothing."

Roxas walked into the room and looked at the corner she was sitting at with the drawings on the floor. "Were you… looking for your sketchbook?"

"I doubt it'd be here. I remember taking it with me when I left. But, I was hoping I would find something." Naminé walked to a wall near the windows. There was a drawing hanging from the wall, a picture of a spiky haired boy wearing red, a tall white haired boy, and a girl with short red hair, all together standing on a sandy mound. The picture next to had three figures wearing black hoods and looking at a sunset.

"I remember what I was thinking when I drew these." Naminé pointed at the picture of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. "I thought how lucky they were, to be born with hearts and have each other." She walked over and reached for the edge of the paper with Roxas, Lea, and Xion. Roxas walked to the wall to take a closer look at the pictures. Naminé took it off the wall and stared at it while in her hands. "I knew who you were when you came to be, the other side of Sora. I thought, how neat it would be if we could be friends, just like Sora and Kairi. But the organization found you, you wore those black hoods, and I realized we could never speak."

Roxas looked over Naminé's shoulder and thought of those black hoods he used to wear. "Huh, I guess I used to be a bad guy."

"You weren't bad, none of you really were. You wanted to feel human, we all did."

"I guess. It's weird thinking that now. I remember how we could feel all these things, but in the end, we still couldn't say we have hearts. I still don't know how nobodies like us ended up with one."

"We were different. Lea, Isa, and the others, returned to their hearts. Xion, you, and I, grew hearts. I guess all that pain meant something. But… I don't feel too different."

"… Neither do I. You think we had hearts a while before we knew?"

"Hmm. Maybe." Naminé walked over to the long table in the center of the room. Like the rest of the room, the polished white color had no trace of dust or the damage the mansion carried. She put the picture down on the table and took a deep breath. "I still can't believe we're here."

"Yeah, isn't it great?"

Naminé smile, but it was the same kind Roxas recognized as before, an upward ark of the mouth but quiet eyes. "Hey… you said there was something you wanted to talk about. What is it?" Roxas asked.

"Umm… not now… I'm sorry." Naminé said looking at the ground around him.

"It's okay. How about we head home?"

Naminé nodded and they went home. As the two went through the gate, Roxas glanced around his surroundings, subtle enough to not draw attention. He felt a pair of eyes watching the two as they walked through the gate and into the forest. He had not forgot the other Naminé, the partial reflection of the one by his side carrying a blight.

The two went through the sewers again. Roxas took deep breaths into his shoulder while Naminé was careful that the sewage water didn't splash over her sandals. They climbed out of the sewage tunnel and found the Trams Market busy once again. The train packed full with people stopped where groups of people waited to let some off and take half of the crowd outside. People walking noticed the two climb out of the sewage tunnel and gave them funny looks while holding their breath as they walked past them. Roxas noticed and smelled himself. "Do I smell funny?" He asked.

"No. Do I?" Naminé asked.

Roxas bent forward a little to smell her. "No, you smell good actually. What perfume do you use?"

"I, didn't put anything on me."

"Oh."

Roxas turned and started walking like he didn't ask her anything. The strange question went right through Naminé and she walked with him.

As they walked home, the two passed a middle-aged man playing cards with an older gentleman. They sat on plastic chairs with two bottles and a mess of card on a flimsy table. The man chatted away while the gentlemen took his time deciding what to do on his turn. The man noticed Roxas walking by and gave him a wave and smile. Roxas returned it and asked, "Winning?"

"I dunno. Hey, am I winning?" The man barked at the gentlemen.

"Not if I have can do anything about it." The gentlemen said.

The three boys scoffed and Roxas and Naminé went on their way. To Naminé, it was impressive how Roxas could approach strangers in such a way he could leave with everyone smiling. It reminded her of Sora, the same kindness but on the other side of the coin. It could be that the two really are connected, even if Sora is not with them now. Or Roxas finally finding his home gave him a peace of mind showed through a friendly disposition.

"Do you like it here?" Naminé asked.

"I do, I like it a lot. The people, the sun, it's… I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Roxas said. "Are you liking Destiny Island?"

"It's like any other world to me. But Kairi's there so I like it."

"Oh Kairi, how is she?"

"Alright, misses Sora a lot."

"He's fine, I'm sure of it. We have this connection with each other, it's hard to describe, but if something bad happened to him, I'll know. Plus if Sora is anything, he's lucky, really lucky. He'll be back before we know it."

The two passed an old couple sitting on a bench observing the people coming on and off the train. Everyone blended in with each other, but in the thick of it there was almost always someone taking a moment to observe who's who.

"A connection with Sora? Can you tell what he's feeling?" Naminé asked.

"I don't think so." Roxas said.

"Can you maybe, feel what he's feeling sometimes?"

"I, don't know. The one I remember the most was when I was outside his body and felt this shock, like I wasn't ever going to see you again. I found out later that's when Xehanort struck you down. That was weird."

"Um, it was Kairi he attacked."

"Oh… that's right, you didn't have a body yet. I remember." Roxas said. Many things he said carried weight he brushed off like brainless chatter. But Naminé took it for what it was.

"Kairi and I can feel each other's intense emotions and I think you and Sora do too." Naminé said. "Any time she feels something that really bothers her, I can feel some of it too."

"Huh, so if one of you has a panic attack, the other will feel something wrong?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, like that. Have you had something like that happen after Sora left?"

"No, can't say I have. But when I was a part of Sora, he was calm. When he was traveling through those worlds, it was be kind, do what you can, and it will work out. Shoot, I bet he felt Ventus's and my emotions more so. There was a moment where he lost a lot of hope, but he came through and is stronger for it. It's a pretty even connection between us, we haven't thrown each other off, I don't think."

"That's good." Naminé said. She wondered if it was Kairi or herself who pulled more on the other side.

The two made it back to the apartment and the sun was starting to dim the sky into a light red. Back in the apartment, the groceries Roxas bought were still laying on the kitchen counter. He went to the kitchen drawers to grab two plates.

"Have you eaten?" Roxas asked.

"I'm not too hungry." Naminé said.

Roxas brought the plates to the small dining table and grabbed the sub along with two cans of soda from the bags. The sub was already cut in half and he placed the other on the plate adjacent to him. "Well just eat as much as you can at least."

Turkey, ham, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Their sub would get thrown across the room by a food connoisseur, but the colorless meal was good enough for the plain black and white audience. The two focused on eating and didn't stop to talk. Naminé used this time to think about how to ask the question she had in mind while Roxas paced himself so the two would finish around the same time. Naminé finished to her surprise and Roxas took his last bite after her.

"Thanks for the food." Naminé said.

"You're welcome." Roxas said as he cracked open a can of soda. Naminé did the same and the two sat at the table taking turns sipping from their drink.

"So what's the plan for you?" Roxas asked.

"I'm not sure." Naminé said. "Ansem asked me if I would like to join his research team as an apprentice. I didn't really want to live at Hollow Bastian, but he offered to create a waypoint between there and Destiny Island if I wanted to stay over there instead. I told him to give me time to think about it."

"Are you mad at him?"

"No, not really. I just remember the masked part of him the most."

"It's okay if you need more time."

"What about you?" Naminé asked.

"Here, for a while. I thought about being a Keyblade guardian like Riku and the others because I already know how to use one so it feels kind of a waste too just forget. I don't know if Xion and Lea feel the same, but Yen Sid says that conflict is never-ending and there is always a need. If I need to be somewhere, I feel like I should be there." Roxas said.

"It's good to have a purpose. But it's good to have a home too."

"Yeah."

Roxas glanced at his watch that was on his left hand under the table. It was getting late and he thought by now Naminé would head back to the train. Maybe the constant twilight threw her off.

"It's getting late." Roxas said. "You haven't asked your question yet."

"Yeah…"

"More time?"

"Maybe tomorrow, if that's okay."

"Of course, no rush." Roxas got up from the table and went to his bedroom. He came back up with a blanket and pillow. He tossed it over to the couch and took a seat. "The guest can take the bedroom. I'll sleep out here."

"What?"

"It's okay, I fell asleep on my couch the first day I moved in and it's pretty comfortable. But I'm not going to sleep yet, gotta brush my teeth first. Oh and the bathroom can be entered by the bedroom and out here, so, knock before you go in. But I'm probably gonna stay up a little more to let the food settle in, wanna watch a movie or something?"

Naminé planned on heading back and coming around tomorrow. She didn't bring clothes or planned for an overnight visit. But it was an offer she didn't realize she wanted until now. She was getting tired and the train ride back felt odious. It would save a round trip if she just stayed here.

"Okay." Naminé said. She walked over to the single couch and took a seat.

Roxas tossed the remote to Naminé's lap. There were shows and movies to stream and he walked her through how to get to them. She asked what the shows and movies were about but Roxas didn't have an answer. A mountain of entertainment waited for them but the two of them were newborns to the normal world. They ended up never playing a movie, Naminé skimmed through the long list asking if the short description sounded good to Roxas. Roxas, not realizing that this could go on forever, asked if it sounded good to her. They were sleepy by the time they realized what the other was doing and how unhealthy their decision-making skills were when together.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

...

_After Roxas managed to come to life with only a vessel and heart, researchers realized all that was left was to obtain Naminé's heart wandering after the release from Kairi's body. There was no need for the memory programs anymore. However, the development of emotions in these memory programs put researcher in a difficult place. To let the programs into vessels would result in the existence of two Roxas and two Naminé, which can cause problems in who the real one is. The other option would be to annihilate the memory programs that developed emotions in their creation. _

_-Ienzo_

…

Faint beeping on Roxas's hand woke him up. He opened his eyes to a slither of light creeping between the window curtains. He hushed the alarm on his watch and took a few seconds to push himself onto his feet. He walked to the bathroom through the living room entrance to take a shower and clean himself up. He left a pair of school clothes in the bathroom so he didn't need to go back to his room and rummage through his wardrobe.

Before leaving, Roxas took a careful peek into his bedroom. He thought of knocking first, but worried it would wake Naminé if she was still sleeping. He opened a small gap through the bathroom door and looked inside. The nightlight illuminated Naminé sleeping on her side away from Roxas with the bed sheets covering her shoulder. He watched for a minute to make sure there was some movement of life and she snuggle into the pillow. He closed the door without making a sound. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, it was hard to believe anything could trouble her.

Long after Roxas went to school, Naminé woke up to a soft light the nightlight gave off. Unable to trust the sun to give her the right time, she trusted her tired eyes and closed them to fall asleep again. She woke up a second time still feeling sluggish but couldn't fall back asleep. She turned to her other side to get more comfortable and the digital clock on the nightstand told her what time it was. She stared at the clock, astonished that she could sleep for almost ten hours. There was nothing waiting for her to wake up to, but the day already felt wasted and her disappointment kept her in bed for a few more minutes.

Light stung Naminé's eyes as she opened the heavy curtains. She covered her eyes with her forearm until she realized it was only twilight. She sat back on the bed and thought what she should do while waiting for Roxas to return from school.

For a place with town in the name, Twilight Town felt like a city. Buildings towered each other and rivers of people flowed to and from the station. The collective chatter merged with the sound of the train giving the town its own distinct sound, a fast track with no tune to slow down or give an end. The town's ferocity would intimidate any stranger from quieter lands, but for people like Roxas, they tamed this fast life to beat at their own pace. Naminé thought how fascinating it was for someone to find harmony in such a chaotic place. Perhaps the sweet sunlight was to thank for it.

Naminé took the pair of keys attached to the fridge door and took off. An empty home like this was too quiet, even for her.

The tram stopped by the apartment as Naminé came out. The tram started to move but stopped when the conductor notice her come out.

"Hitching a ride ma'am?" The conductor asked.

The conductor was kind enough to stop for her, it would be rude to say no, Naminé thought. She didn't have a destination so it didn't matter if she got on or ignored the tram. "Thank you." She said as she ran to climbed on.

The tram had long metal seats outlining its right and left sides with safety handles hanging from the roof. There were a few seats left and three people standing in the middle hanging on the safety handles. The seats between two strangers did not look welcoming to Naminé. They seemed like every day people minding their business but she couldn't bring herself to sit between them. She took to standing in the middle and hanging on the safety handles instead. The tram picked up speed and she stumbled a little to her left as the tram made a swift right. A few eyes turned at the ungrounded girl and Naminé kept her eyes forward. She took quiet steady breathes to get rid of the red flustering into her face. The passengers went back to minding their business.

A few minutes passed and the tram came to a stop. Naminé stayed still as everyone climbed out and was the last to leave. The new passengers took their place and Naminé glanced around like she was looking for someone. To her left was a restaurant with a sign picturing a tower curving upwards and wrapped with festive light. Families, couples, and groups of friends filled almost every outdoor seating there was. To her right was a line of shops built together as one long colorful building that drew her attention. Signs hanging above the doors gave each store a name and a guess of what they sold. Abigail's Candy Shop, Naminé passed by the window and sure enough, people were going through shelves of sweets and scooping them into brown paper bags. Tic Tok, she had a guess for clocks but surprised with finding isles of videos lined up inside.

Elanor, this sign gave no indication of what it sold with its straightforward name. Naminé walked by the window and found a mannequin wearing a beautiful desert sundress, the fabric hung like wavy theater curtains with little stitch patterns put together like diamonds hanging off chandeliers. She paused for a moment to admire the dress. Pass the mannequin were well dressed adults carrying an aura, a magnet that drew in awestruck people and repelled people with more peculiar tastes. Naminé thought how she needed cloths but knew she wouldn't find any here. The desert sundress looked back at Naminé and she could feel herself being judged.

Intentional or not, the next store also used a name: Ashlyn. Naminé looked inside and found another clothes shop, very different from her sister next door. No glorious doll posed behind glass, instead posters of deals slapped on the window. She looked inside and saw people like herself, dressed up without much thought. Humble, she thought, although people without much pride would tell her they are just necessities in the end. But the desert sundress from the glass next door caught her eye again. It was hard to picture herself wearing such a piece, but she could feel herself shining when she humored herself with it.

Naminé went inside and purchased a small bag of clothes. She and Kairi shared a wardrobe with mostly Kairi's name on it, but the reason for buying more clothes was because she hoped to stay at least another day here. Even if she manages to bring the conversation today, she wanted a day to spend with her dear friend, not worrying about what brought her here.

Naminé thought about Xion, another good friend overdue to spend time with. But there was an urge to push Xion away and she knew it involved Roxas. Wither it was guilt for avoiding Xion or the shame of jealously from the bond Xion and Roxas have, she couldn't decide. She thought of the place Roxas and his friends hung out while putting names on faces she never met. A scene of their group lounging around, chatting through the day and snacking on ice cream, made her core rot. The bond she and Roxas has is unique. But friendship, the natural connection untainted by the inhuman grasp of fate, was what she wanted the most.

An hour of walking through the Trans Market took Naminé to Station Heights, another section of the Market Streets that is a singular passage to the Train Station. An ice cream stand with an umbrella shielding the clerk, had a line of kids too young for school growing impatient and their parents sparking conversation with the other moms and dads around them. The buildings here were more homes than shops shown by open windows carrying flowerbeds on the edge, balconies cluttered with unwanted junk, and the slower pace people walked compared to the Trams Market rush.

The Station Heights passage had a little break in the middle where it curved that led to an alleyway behind a tea shop, coffee shop, and bar. Naminé recognized where it led and walked into it. The alleyway was narrow with dumpsters lined up, water pipes looking breakable, and electrical junctions ready to surprise an electrocuted-able guest. Somewhere in this hostile walkway, was a place friends called the Usual Spot.

A table sheet hanging off a wired fence piece covered the entrance to the Usual Spot. Naminé walked through it and saw someone sitting on a crate at a corner. The person took the shape and form of Roxas, but she knew it wasn't him. He wore the same casual clothes, but the left side of his body carried a kind of blight. On his left bare arm was a black and white checkered pattern flowing in confusing directions. The stranger felt Naminé's presence and looked up. The right side of his face was Roxas, perfect and exact to what she saw yesterday. The other half held the same disease as his left arm, dark and light squares moving together against a pale white eye and hair that turned black where the incomplete body started. Only half of the stranger's face could smile.

"Naminé." He said. Next to him was a mini fridge that he opened showing a box of ice cream inside. "You look a lot better. Did you figure it out? Wait." The stranger used his blighted left arm to pick out an ice cream bar. His left arm was shaking as if he forced himself to pick up a clump of lava. He tossed it to Naminé who caught it but did not open it. "Tell me how it tastes."

Naminé was careful. She could feel the stranger's heart beating an erratic rhythm. "Who are you?"

The smile fell from the stranger's face. "I'm Roxas. Of course, I'm Roxas. I… look a little different, but I'm still me. How could you forget me?"

"No, listen, you are not Roxas. Roxas is – "

"I am Roxas! They made me to be Roxas! I remember Axel! I remember… her… And you! You told me I wouldn't disappear! How could you forget me when I'm right here?!" The stranger was off his crate and standing like a hound prepared to attack.

"Calm down, please. Just listen to me. There's a Roxas here already. He goes to school with his friends. I don't know who you are, but you said someone made you. Who?"

"The scientists… they gave me memories… they told me I would come back once they could find me a body… but they never did. Me and Naminé found out there were replicas being made but they still wouldn't let us have a body. So we went through the mainframe and took the replicas for ourselves…"

"Naminé? I'm Naminé. Who are you talking about?"

It all made sense to the Roxas replica now, who he was really talking to, why he wasn't given a body, and what has become of him.

"… So you found a body, and you're not the same Naminé at Hollow Bastion. That means there's another Roxas who found a body as well, one before I did." The replica said.

"Roxas's heart was in Sora and my heart was in Kairi. With some help, we found bodies and came to existence. But who are these scientists? Why were you created?" Naminé asked.

The replica pointed his left hand to the ground and a portal to the dark passage opened. He walked towards it and said, "It doesn't matter anymore."

The replica walked through the portal and it disappeared. Naminé kept where she stood trying to process everything that happened. Someone created a replica of Roxas, but for what reason? The replica was able to use the dark passage that was a power he had while still in the organization, but there were no more remains of the organization for that to make sense. And there was another replica, one of herself.

...

Sunset Terrace was another part of Twilight Town. A ten minute train ride separated the suburbs from the magic of the Market Streets, magic that tired the people who could not quench their need for calm waters in the small pockets of silence found in a place where the sound of the tram was unescapable. Only strange dwellers drunk on the endless rollercoaster high lived in the few homes in the Market Streets where the constant movement would make a regular person dizzy.

"Are you going to the spot?" Xion asked Roxas as the two walked through the walkway navigating through the tight cluster of homes in Sunset Terrace.

"Are you?" Roxas asked.

"No, I have to go help Olette with something."

"Is it something I could help with?"

"Oh, not really… girl stuff."

It sounded like she fell in the toilet to Roxas, but he didn't pry. He was happy she grew closer to new friends. From falling from a tool used by dubious people to a state of non-existence, having fun with new friends was a big step.

"Are you liking school?" Roxas asked.

"I do. I kind of fade away in the back during class, but I like being around so much people. We never talk, but when we do it feels like we've always been friends." Xion said. There was a smile on her face, a kind when someone is given freedom from the chains of a cruel fate. "This place is everything I dreamed of."

Roxas smiled as Xion went on about the new life she was given. It all felt like a dream to him, he always thought a life like this was unobtainable for a person who was given a short purpose in life. But here he was, something he still had a hard time believing.

"Umm, are you liking school?" Xion asked when she realized how long she went on.

"Yeah. It's good." Roxas said.

"How much do you like it?"

"A whole lot."

"Oh come on."

"When I was in the simulated Twilight Town, I didn't like the idea of doing homework. I still don't."

"Lazy!"

"Give it time, you're gonna know what I mean."

"I won't be lazy."

The two reached the station that had a large group of people waiting outside. They went to the back of the line and waited.

"Coming with?" Roxas asked.

"No, I have to go help Lea and Isa with something." Xion said.

"I thought you said you were helping Olette with something."

"Oh! T-that's right. I don't… actually have to be here."

It was obvious she was lying about something. Although Roxas was curious why she would need to see Lea and Isa, he let the stumbling bluff go. Xion rubbed the sweat around her neck knowing she was a bad liar too.

The train to the Market Streets rolled in and the two looked at each other with their goodbyes.

"So, tomorrow?" Roxas said.

"Yep, we'll be waiting here." Xion said.

"You guys don't have to come around too early. I'll feel bad if everyone is waiting on me."

"Better wake up earlier then."

They gave each other their smiles as Roxas walked into the train. He took a seat in the crowded benches and looked outside the window to see Xion still standing there. He saw her guard down and noticed her face tensed and worried. It made him uneasy.

Hayner had to attend a meeting for his struggle club, Pence made time to play video games, and Olette needed help from Xion with something, maybe. Lea and Isa may show up at the spot and grab an ice cream bar but probably leave when they see no one else there. Time was tighter during school and some days the spot had no regular guest come by. Roxas would have to find something to burn through the day, but someone was waiting for him at home this time. He worried Naminé got bored during these lazy afternoons with no one around and thought of buying a sketchbook for her on the way back.

Roxas opened the door to his apartment and found Naminé sitting at the two-seater couch staring at the TV. Naminé turn and the soft smile she made with the warm light pouring through the window stopped him in his tracks. On the TV were frogs jumping from leaf to leaf and a calm voice narrating what was going through their heads. Roxas walked over to put the sketchbook he bought on the kitchen table and took a seat next to her. He dropped his backpack near the couch that shook the floor.

"I got you a sketchbook and some color pencils, in case you were getting too bored." Roxas said.

"Oh, thanks, but you don't need to worry about me." Naminé said.

It took a few seconds for Roxas to realize something was different. Instead of the plain white she wore before, Naminé was wearing a different t-shirt that was a dustier white with a darker pair of shorts.

"Did you go shopping?" Roxas asked.

"I did." Naminé said. She picked a part of her sleeves and looked at it. "There were a lot to choose from, but I wasn't sure what looks good. So I picked what I already wear but a different color."

"Hey it's okay, Xion didn't know what to wear either so we picked out most of her clothes. We'll take you along for clothes shopping one of these days."

Naminé nodded and the two turned their eyes back to the television. Roxas thought of what the to do for the day while Naminé tried to think of something to say.

"Want to head out into the town?" Roxas asked.

"Sure."

"Okay, let's see. Looks like you went through the Trams Market already… Have I ever showed you the spot before?"

"… No, but maybe some other time." Naminé said. She thought about the Roxas replica and worried the real Roxas would meet him back at their sentimental place. She thought of mentioning the replica to him but worried it would panic him. Ansem may have answers but she put that aside for another time, maybe tomorrow when Roxas goes to school.

Roxas thought of other places to go. A walk through the wilderness around the Old Mansion would be nice, he wondered if Naminé would like a break and get relatively lost in nature. But he thought of the strange Naminé he met at the Old Mansion and worried they would bump into her. He was sure what he saw was real and perhaps it was this strange thing Ansem mentioned, but it would need to be another time.

Station Heights was an option but Roxas thought the quiet person next to him wouldn't enjoy walking with the fast crowd during rush hour. The small park at Sunset Terrace was another option but he remembered that Naminé shied away from her familiar but distant friends. The next idea came to him like the lost puzzle part to finish a piece.

"I got it. Follow me." Roxas said as he got up and went for the door. Naminé shut the TV off and followed him. As they left through the door, Roxas realized he forgot something. He dashed back inside and came back out when he was ready.

In Station Heights was a small alleyway that led to nowhere but had the fire escape ladder for the small apartment attached to it. The dumpster chute next to it made it possible to climb onto the ladder and the two, one hiding her reluctancy, climbed onto the ladder to the roof of the apartments. The buildings of Station Heights stood side by side with two alleyway gaps to separate sections. But rooftop explorers put wooden planks over them so they could walk through different sections of the buildings. Roxas went first to show Naminé that the planks, looking withered and too movable, was safe. The two traversed through the rooftops until they reached the Train Station.

On top of the Train Station was a tall clock tower. At the base of the clock tower was a door that led to the spiral stairs that took Roxas and Naminé to the mechanical intricacies of the giant clock the tower held. Through the stairs they could hear metal moving against each other and a loud tick for each second that passed. The stairs took them through a confusing clump of gears, and waiting for them was a door with a brick to prop open that led outside right above the clock itself.

Roxas walked to the edge and took a seat. Naminé walked next to him but couldn't sit when she saw that under his feet was a drop that would kill the light hearted and afraid.

"Don't worry. If you start falling, I'll catch you." Roxas said. He looked down unphased. "I've never jumped from this height, but if Sora could do it, I'm pretty sure I can."

Naminé took a slow careful seat and kept her head looking straight. She didn't think she could last up here with the constant reminder of death gnawing below her, but then she saw the sun. Its light casted tall shadows in the town that felt so big up close but small up here. People looked like little dots moving up and about the Station Plaza, in the Trans Market she could see the Tram move like a toy train, from here she saw how much of the barren forest the Old Mansion surrounded itself, and the sun, never rising above the sea, reflected what looked like midnight stars on the waters.

Roxas reached into his pocket and handed Naminé an ice cream bar. She took it and he revealed one for himself. They unwrapped their treat, stuff the trash in their pockets, and took a salty bite.

"I think it was here where I realized this was the town I want to be in for as long as I could." Roxas said. "I remember being born here and when I went to the organization, I came back whenever I could. I can't really describe it, but… if I had a mother to cradle me whenever I'm feeling sad or sick, it would feel like this when I come up here. In a way, this town helped give me a purpose again. I don't know if you can thank a town or what brought me here to it, but I wish I could."

Naminé looked over to Roxas and his calm soul that made him feel like a dream. "… Have you ever wanted something badly, but never understood why?"

The question he's been waiting for, Roxas thought. "I think so. But what is it you're talking about?"

"It's hard to explain to you. But the feeling is probably the same."

"Well, it's okay to not know why. I guess you would have to ask yourself if it's good for you."

"And if you don't know?"

"Okay you're gonna have to just tell me what it is." Roxas said trying to see through her eyes.

"No." Naminé said while looking away with a cheeky smile.

"Could you try?"

"… It could be because of my connection with Kairi, but does that change anything? Is there a difference between wanting something and needing something?"

"I said try to describe it, not make it more confusing."

"Sorry."

Roxas thought of Twilight Town. He thought of Xion, Lea, Isa, Hayner, Pence, Olette. He thought of Sora, Riku, Kairi, then Ventus, Aqua, and Terra. He thought of the girl next to him. It was hard to picture the grand scheme of plans that brought everyone together, why things are what they are when so much of the choices given to all of them were beyond their control.

"Naminé, it's okay to want something and need something, and it's okay to trust it when you're not sure if it's good or not. It's hard to know sometimes, but you're allow to make mistakes." Roxas turned back to the sun that eased his soul. "Whatever choice you have to make, you'll come through. And I'm always here if you need me."

Naminé turned to the sun as well, curious at what light he could see in the sky that went past her. It would be unfair to ask the question she really wanted to ask to Roxas, but it was okay to not ask now. She brought herself to trust the feeling. It no longer tortured her with endless longing like before, instead it gave her the spark in life she forgotten she had.

The two took a long look at the sun inch so slightly into the horizon. They nibbled their sea salt ice cream and although said very little after so, spent a moment they cherished.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

...

_The first option of putting the memory programs was not considered. Aside from the existential issues it would cause for the current Roxas and Naminé, researchers could not predict the outcome of letting a vessel with memories but without a heart to the public. Only the second option remained but researchers hesitated in annihilating the programs. It was not because they became valuable research subjects, but because the programs would feel fear in their deaths. How does one ethically euthanize a subject that was never meant to be but longed to exist?_

_ As a week passed while researchers decided what to do, they found the two programs that built Roxas and Naminé's memory gone. No researcher deleted the programs and security records did not find anyone entering the computers that held the program banks with Roxas and Naminé. At the same time, Even reported two missing vessels from his replica workshop. The only evidence security found was a hack trail that brought two vessels into the lab that housed the incubator researchers used to bring Naminé back to the world. _

_ Researchers reported to Ansem and he is organizing a search party to find the vessels in question and learn more of this hack. _

_I fear telling the real Roxas and Naminé will cause them grief. Hopefully, we will find the missing vessels holding their memories before any harm is done. _

_-Ienzo_

…

Roxas woke up in sweat to the sound of his door knocking in his apartment. He got up from the couch he was sleeping on and looked over to his door. He could feel someone behind the door, the sight of a shadowy silhouette leaning its head against his door on the other side invaded his head. Someone he was close to was waiting behind the door. It was someone with an invisible connection to him like Sora, but a sudden unexpected kind, one that pulled at his mind and sparked a fire to fight back. The connection grew fainter and he could hear footsteps walking down the stairs of the apartment in the complete silence. He could leave it be and return to sleep, but the connection to this mysterious being told him that it was dangerous, not as an indiscriminate blaze looking to destroy his town, but as an obsessed predator focused only on him. He would not be able to sleep knowing he was being stalked by such a being.

Roxas peeked into his bedroom to find Naminé sound asleep. Convinced she was safe, Roxas got himself dressed and went out to follow the direction of the connection. But she was not safe in her dreams. A connection bounding her to a familiar being dragged her into an empty boundless place, where the blue skies stretched over the world like an endless oasis and the ground reflected the color of the ocean. In front of Naminé was a white door. She walked towards the door on the solid water that sent ripples through the still water with every step she took. She opened the door and found the White Room of the Old Mansion.

Sitting at the other end of the table from herself was another Naminé undisturbed and wearing the pale white dress from before she could exist as a person. Naminé forgot who she was during this dream and thought the Naminé sitting at the table was herself experienced through floating eyes in a fleeting dream.

The Naminé at the table began to talk to herself. The Naminé who was asleep in the real world did not realize that it was a conversation between the two of them.

"Where am I supposed to be?" The Naminé sitting at the table asked.

The question did not feel odd, it felt like something she herself would say and it convinced her that there was only one of the same person in this room.

The Naminé at the table stood up and walked towards the walls that had her hand drawn pictures hanging by a piece of tape. The first picture was one of Sora who was sleeping in a glass pod when he lost him memories. "All because I wanted a friend." Naminé said.

The next picture she passed was one of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. The three of them sat and leaned against a palm tree that grew sideways. The fleeting Naminé outside her body of this dream came to look closer at the drawing. She remembered drawing this and the specific moment when she asked herself if she should draw them with smiles. They didn't need it, she decided. The look on their face as they gazed at the sea was enough to convey what she thought of them.

"What a great trio of friends. They all get to have each other. So lucky." Naminé said.

Their eyes went to a sketchbook left on the long white table. In the open sketchbook was a self-portrait. None of the two Naminé could remember when they drew this. In this picture, she wore the white pale dress and sat on a chair in The White Room. She sat up straight in the picture with little details like the direction of her hair, the proportions of her body, and the markings to show her fingers, made like an experienced artist. But behind the blonde hair, there was no face. She wondered when she made this and why it was unfinished, but then a stroke of fear lanced into her heart. She couldn't finish. She couldn't finish because she couldn't create her own face, the piece that would distinguish her from a lifeless doll wearing the same pale dress and carrying the same blonde hair. She knew what her own face looked like, but she must draw it with the final bit of precision, what she felt like. Would she be happy? Would she be sad? Angry? Afraid? Tired? Eyes closed? Looking away? Emotionless? No, the truth was that the self portrait was accurate and finished.

"I should never come to be." Naminé said.

...

Roxas read three AM on his clock. In the quietest time of Twilight Town, the warm embrace from the orange glow turned into dusk where the red strewn sky allowed regular old light to take on the town. The brown pavement did not look brighter in the sun's reflection, just brown as the neutral always was. Blue buildings muddled in the afternoon showed their full color in the dusk. The orange tram in the distance that was out of service during the night, lost its fervor that gave the town its life when it could no longer bask in the sunlight. Twilight Town turned into something else when the sun left.

The connection pointed at a direction towards the Train Station. Roxas followed it passing the soulless streets that bustled with people and chatter hours ago. He followed through Station Heights seeing the shops shutters down and windows closed. His footsteps reflected off the buildings leading him to the station and he kept scanning around him thinking his footsteps sneaking up to him was someone else.

Station Plaza was a large open area outside the Train Station. Vast nothingness for passersby to admire the massive clock tower above them or the view of the tracks leading the beach in the horizon. But in this mass nothingness was the connection, a man made to look like him and the same in every retrospect, wondering why this town forsaken him.

A Roxas infected with a checkered blight running down the left side of his bare arms and face looked at the other Roxas.

"I've been thinking about you. I was thinking, why you?" The blighted Roxas said. "If I destroy you, will my body get your heart? What would happen to me then? Would I disappear and you continue to exist in a different body? Do I get your heart and still get to be me?"

The blighted Roxas began to walk towards him. In the Blighted Roxas's right hand was a bright light forming into a Keyblade. It looked like the Oblivion to Roxas but the hollow chain of the blade twisted together to form a white pole with a single wing of a bird at the tip reaching out, Far Cry, a Keyblade Roxas never seen but knew. In the Blighted Roxas's left hand was a black smoke that revealed another Keyblade. The handle had the angel wings like the Oathkeeper but it was missing the starlight teeth and instead pulled the shaft parts outward like a gruesome pickaxe, Forgotten Promise, another Keyblade twisted into existence.

"What do you think will happen?" The Blighted Roxas asked.

...

Naminé walked towards another picture taped to the wall. It was a drawing of Roxas in his casual clothes standing in front of the Old Mansion. The two came to existence not too long from each other and Naminé remembered drawing this when she felt a disturbance far away, the cries of someone drowning and sinking when they were really learning to breath and beginning to rise. She colored in a blockish shape as the Mansion and a boy with yellow spiky hair below it, primitive in her early days but she knew what it meant.

Naminé took the drawing off the wall and the Naminé asleep in the dream felt something faint and foreign in front of her. The Naminé holding the picture looked at it, then spoke at it.

"I came to be inside a lonely castle when you get to have a town for yourself. They locked me up in that forsaken place when you got to travel the worlds and make friends." The grip in Naminé's hand grew stronger and creased the drawing. Her words resonated with the dreaming Naminé but she knew for sure that this was someone else. "We're the same… but you get to have everything… You get to have friends! You get to have a home! You get a purpose! Why do you get to have everything I don't have!"

Her teeth sharpened and her eyes turned into wild fury, Naminé could see what this haunted reflection wanted to do. "Don't!"

She pulled the drawing apart, tearing it in half.

...

Roxas dropped to his knees holding his chest feeling like something ripped at his insides. He fell to his side and made a terrible cry with the pain growing to paralyze him. Without any energy left to scream, he trembled on the ground as the blighted Roxas walked closer. He paid no mind to his victim who suddenly lost the will to fight and raised the Forgotten Oath in the air. The blighted Roxas aimed the sharpened shafted at the being that came before him and took his place.

Another Keyblade swirling through the air struck the blighted Roxas's Keyblade in the air and he turned to see where the flying Keyblade returned to. The silver handle with a black rigid guard shaft landed in the hands of a calm master. The Keyblade had a body with a long-pointed pole and two half triangles overlapping each at the tip, Rejection of Fate, Xion's resolve spelled out in words that gave her mark in a world which forgot about her. To her side was Lea with his Flame Liberator resting on his shoulder and Isa dragging his old claymore, the Lunatic.

The three rushed over to Roxas and the blighted Roxas stumbled back. The three formed a wall between him and the stranger with their weapons ready. The blighted Roxas began to shake at the sight of his old friends, ashamed that they saw him how he is and confused in why he is an enemy now.

"Why?" The blighted Roxas asked. "I… I'm your friend… I'm doing this for you…"

"I don't know what the hell you are, but we don't have much time. Roxas needs help!" Lea said.

"Let's be quick then. This replica is dangerous." Isa said.

Xion wavered at the sight of the bighted Roxas close to breaking down. But she knew what was real, who had the heart she was friends with, and steadied her Keyblade. "You're not Roxas. You don't belong here." She said.

The blighted Roxas grew weak from being rejected from his friends, his home, his life. He was not Roxas anymore, but a Replica created as a mistake. The resolve to return to a normal life twisted into something else. The feeling churned and churned, until it turned into a maniacal surge indiscriminate in its aim and unrelenting when unleashed.

Isa lunged forward and slammed his blade with all his weight into the ground where the Replica backed away and prepared to counterattack. Xion and Lea each took a side and deflected the Keyblades aimed at Isa. The Replica backed away with the momentum from being deflected and watched as Xion inched to his left side and Lea to his right side. Isa stayed in front of him with his blade dragging on the ground making scratching concrete sounds and ready to swipe at any angle. Xion and Lea disappeared from his peripherals and Lea started. He rushed forward but froze an inch away from the Replica's range who prepared to block. The Replica caught his blind spot and with it, blindly swung both Keyblades behind him at Xion who brought her Keyblade to block instead of attack. The Replica felt another threatened blind spot and with one Keyblade holding back Xion, he brought his right Keyblade to block the incoming horizontal attack from Lea. In front of the Replica, Isa rushed forward with his claymore aimed with a stab and launched the Replica off the ground with a thrust attack. The Replica tumbled through the ground and laid on the ground for a second before pushing himself back up.

The Replica looked injured and the three closed in on him to finish him off. But they soon will find that a spirit with nothing to lose is the equal to those who desperately fight for life.

...

Naminé woke up with the hair near her temple sticky with sweat. She pushed herself out of bed and went to the window illuminated by the nightlight and pulled apart the heavy drapes. A red sky seeped away the twilight that made this town feel magical before and the damp light soiled the room so used to warm light. Naminé opened the door to the living room and found crinkled blankets laying on the couch. She put on her shoes and rushed out the door. She could still feel the sensation of holding the drawing of Roxas and hear the sound of it ripping. She needed to make sure he was okay.

A connection pointed Naminé to the direction of the mansion. It didn't feel like Roxas, she could feel its heart beating like it was running away from something. She followed the feeling of the connection thinking it would somehow lead to Roxas, or at least to whoever the connection led to and find Roxas with them.

It was strange to see a walkway with people standing at the corner chatting away, sitting at the bench and tables taking in the crisp air, walking with a purpose for things to do and places to be, all abandoned. Naminé ran straight through the middle of the street shattering the quiet with her running steps. The sewers had the same disgusting stream of sewage flowing in the center. She couldn't run on the curved edge in the tunnel so she ran through the thin line of sewage. Her footsteps made splashes that echoed through the tunnel and soaked her feet and legs in filth.

Naminé made it through the hatch and made her way to the Old Mansion. She was starting to run out of breath but saw someone zip through the trees in the forest. It was hard to tell who it was, but she recognized the pale white dress. Naminé picked her pace back up and chased the running figure towards the mansion. In the quiet silence, she heard an unnatural rustle in the trees above her. She turned and looked up to see a few leaves fall from above in the branches lush with green and covering the sky. Nothing moved while she took a second to look at it and the urgency returned taking her back to running towards the Old Mansion.

The doors to the Old Mansion was left open and the remains of the force that pushed it open lingering on the left door falling back shut. Naminé ran through the door, the connection was at its strongest and she could tell it led to the White Room in the second floor. She climbed the stair and began to walk towards the door to the White Room. The out of place room in the Old Mansion always felt safe, even with the unknown presence inside. She opened the door and looked inside. At the corner opposite of her, was another Naminé cowering against the walls, the right of her body incomplete with black pixels rotating and swirling indecisive colors.

Naminé closed the door behind her and walked towards the Naminé she concluded was the other Replica the Roxas Replica mentioned. The White Room was different from the dream with no signs of any drawing torn apart and the mess of drawings in the corner from two days ago. She walked towards her Replica and the Replica screamed at her with a voice cracking through her lungs.

"Stay away!" She yelled.

Naminé could tell her Replica was sobbing as she walked closer. It was a light whimper with her face drooped down towards a sketchbook in her lap. It was painful to hear the Replica scream, to hear what it sounds like if she herself was cornered and scared.

Naminé was about two arm lengths away by a window. She could see scattered color pencils around her Replica and one in her right hand. On the sketchbook in her lap was a rushed drawing of Roxas, difficult to distinguish with tears smudging its outline. The Replica was mumbling to herself.

"What have I done… what have I done… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Roxas…" She said.

Naminé remembered taking apart Sora's memories and picking at his heart for some backwards reason that made no sense now. Seeing her Replica do the same to Roxas, crying and trying to fix what she did, showed her what she is, who they are, and why they are what they are. Searching for something to give themselves meaning, having it backfire, then returned to their purposeless place reluctant to try again. How did Roxas do it? A confusing question that bound her and the Replica together.

Sora forgave Naminé. She was sure that Roxas would forgive her Replica. Naminé put her hand out and the Replica looked up, the pixels in her face still swirling and trying to figure out what they are meant to complete.

"It's okay. It's okay. Roxas will be fine. Come with me. We'll find him, talk to him, and everything will be work out." Naminé said.

The Replica's breathing eased as she looked at the welcoming hand of her counterpart. She took it and Naminé pulled back to lift her off the ground and back on her feet, the both of them in front of the window.

The crackle of glass shattering came the same time a spear drove itself through the Replica and pierce into the ground. Naminé still holding onto the Replicas hand, felt it go limp, slanting down and held up by a spear sticking on the ground diagonally. She looked in the eyes of a version of her old self that began to close, but a sliver of her blue eyes remained open as her life faded away. She released her hand and it hung off her arm.

...*

The pain eased in Roxas's chest. There was something in the wind, something he couldn't see but could feel. It freed him from the pins that raptured his insides and filled him with sorrow as if he lost something. But for Roxas, this sorrow of losing something dear to him tempered his resolve.

Roxas looked up at the sound of weapons clashing. Xion, Lea, and Isa fought hard to land the final blow to the Roxas Replica. But the Replica's flurry of attacks was precise with his Far Cry and the cruel attacks with his Forgotten Promise threw off their coordination.

Xion aimed at the Replica's back for a perfect opening, only for a sudden slash from the Forgotten Promise going for her eyes to stop her. She backed her face away just in time and the sharp edges of the Forgotten Promise created two long cuts over her cheek. She fell off balance and landed on her back. Lea made a horizontal slash thinking he had an opening, but the momentum from the Replica's swing that grazed Xion flowed towards Lea. The Replica ducked Lea's attack and the Forgotten Promise lodged into Lea's thigh forcing him on his knees. Isa made a vertical downward slash and the Replica redirected Isa's blade with the Far Cry so it landed to his side. He ripped the Forgotten Promise out of Lea and swung it into Isa's shoulder making him drop his claymore. The fight was over in seconds.

Roxas stood back up on his feet. In his left hand a bright light gave him the Oathkeeper, the part of him that longs and lives, complimented by the darkness within that gave him his determination. In his right hand a black smoke gave him the Oblivion, the part of him that looked into the abyss, illuminated by the light within that made sure he could always see even within the darkest time. He brought the tip of his two Keyblades together and struck them together like matchsticks making a loud sound of metal preparing itself.

The Replica heard it and stopped his assault on the three to turn at the person he needed to fight to end it all. The Replica and Roxas stared at each other, both giving the other the final chance of the life they both dreamed of.

The Replica beamed with a bright glimmering light and flashed towards Roxas. Roxas prepare himself to block. For the last moments, time felt to slow for the two. Before their Keyblades met, they looked into each other's face. No longer lost in crazed destruction or paralyzing pain, the both of them fastened with the resolve that brought them here, wanting to exist.

Roxas brought his Keyblades to block the attack coming towards him. The Replica made a diagonal inward slash with his right hand and the Far Cry clashed with the Oathkeeper. He made a horizontal outward slash with the Forgotten Promise that clashed with the Oblivion. The instant their Keyblades met, the Replica's Keyblades dissipated in his hands. The Replica did not react or dodge the incoming attack Roxas made. He stood in a daze when the means he had to face the world disappeared.

An inward cross slash with both of Roxas's Keyblades ended the fight. The Replica stood with his body shaking and beginning to fall. Roxas returned his Keyblades and took a deep breath. The two looked at each other. Though one was cursed with a certain blight, the truth was that they were the perfect copy of each other. Both retained the memories that ensured they are who they are. Both dreamt the same dreams and moved by the same sunset. Both wanted the right to exist, but in a place where there was only one kind of friends, one kind of town, one kind of life.

The Roxas Replica turned his head towards the horizon where the beach he never been was. The edge of the merciful sun rose and gave him his last wish.

He turned back to the one who took his place before he could and said, "So that's why."


	6. Chapter 6

Last Chapter

...

Xion, Lea, and Isa walked over to Roxas who was staring at his Replica laying on the ground. Roxas was in a bit of a daze, seeing a different but convincing copy of himself was too surreal, seeing him dead was even more so.

"Roxas." Xion said.

The concerned voice knocked the daze away and Roxas turned his head to his three shaken friends. Two long gashes marked Xion's face, Lea was slanted to put weight off his injured leg, and Isa used his left hand to cover the wound near his shoulder. None of them fought against a Keyblade weaponized to inflict pain and draw blood. The three looked at Roxas as he ran towards them and wondered if somewhere in him, the Far Cry and the terrible Forgotten Promise rested in his depths.

"Guys you're all bleeding!" Roxas said.

"Ha, this is nothing. But let's not fight like that ever again." Lea said. He tried to hide it, but the piercing pain in his thigh made it impossible to ease the tension in his face.

"This will heal, but are you okay? You were on the ground a few minutes ago." Xion said.

"I'm fine. I don't know what came over me, but it passed."

"Good. Listen, Dilan from Hollow Bastian is here. He told us there were two replicas here, one of you, and one of Naminé. They're both dangerous. The three of us went looking for your Replica but Dilan is still looking for Naminé's."

"Okay… okay, I think we'll find Naminé's Replica at the Old Mansion. I saw something that was, like Naminé there a while ago, she might still be there." Roxas said.

"Let's go."

"Wait." Before they took off, Isa turned them around. He was facing the body of the Replica Roxas on the ground. "We can't leave this here."

"That's right. Dawn is gonna come soon." Lea said.

Lea walked over and unraveled a rolled-up bag in his pockets. The bag was the size of a person and he unzipped it and placed it on the ground. Xion came over to help but the two of them stopped when they kneeled to pick up the Replica by the legs. The body of the Replica Roxas laid on his stomach with his head turned to the right facing the sun. They saw the right side of his face free from the checkered blight like his left, and it was the perfect copy of their dear friend, just laying cold on the ground.

Lea was shaking the longer he looked at the Replica's face. The pupils in Roxas's eyes did not move and any sign of breathing to give him life was not there. Lea stood up and turned away from the Replica's body. "I-I can't."

Xion's hands froze as she looked away trying to remind herself that the real Roxas is at her side and not this dead body in front of her. She pushed herself to pick him up but her hands retracted at the thought of the icy sensation from Roxas's body growing colder by the second.

Alone, Isa kneeled and lifted the Replica up by the shoulders. But his own injured shoulder made it hard to pick anything up. He closed his eyes and pushed through the pain, just move him over into the bag and it's done, he said to himself. Then the weight eased and Isa opened his eyes to see Roxas lifting his own replica up by the legs. Isa nodded at him and Roxas returned it.

The two lifted the Replica up and put him face down in the bag. Isa zipped it up and Roxas picked up the bag and placed it over his shoulder. Xion and Lea wanted to offer themselves to be the one to carry the body bag, but the feeling of a person's weight through the plastic stopped them.

"I hope you don't mind dropping this off in the Usual Spot. It's the closest place that's isolated enough that no one will stumble over it." Isa said.

"Yeah, but it can't stay there or else the trash guys will find it." Roxas said.

"Once we find Naminé's Replica, Dilan will handle the rest."

"Okay."

"Alright-alright let's move before someone sees us hauling away a body bag." Lea said.

The four of them walked as fast as Roxas could who was carrying his weight away.

They concealed the body behind a few crates hoping that when this is all over, they could still sit near the same places without the thought of a dead body creeping in. They took off towards the Old Mansion as fast as Lea could keep up with his injured leg. The sun was beginning to rise. Not yet, they thought, they didn't want the Town to see this. Bloodied with their hearts racing, the stench of death soiling one of its precious places, don't wake up yet Twilight Town. There was a mess that needed cleaning, a mess such warm light should not touch.

As they pushed through the sewage, Lea started up a conversation to take their mind off the smell they were running through.

"You two still going to school after tonight?" Lea asked.

"Aww man I wish it was the weekend." Roxas said.

"Hey, can't ask a fight to reschedule itself right? How about we pretend to be your parents and call you in sick? Can't do that too often though or else they'll catch on."

"We would have two dads?" Xion said.

Lea and Isa looked at each other and then back to the tunnel. "Forget it, just play hooky if you can't go to school."

The four found the hatch and made their way to the Old Mansion. The lonely building in the middle of nowhere close to falling down came to view and they saw a tall built man with thick strands of hair tied into a pony tail walking out of the gate. As they came closer, they saw a blonde girl emerge behind him. Xion, Lea, and Isa who did not know that the real Naminé was also here with her Replica, drew their Keyblades and weapons to prepare for another fight.

"Behind you!" Lea shouted out.

Dilan glanced behind him then looked at Naminé who startled and froze. He put his hands out to tell them to cease their weapons. "It's over. This is the real Naminé." He said.

The three stopped in their tracks and looked closer to make sure she was real, and if that was the real Dilan while they were at it. Roxas broke into a sprint towards the gate and ran past Dilan who continued to walk towards the other three. Naminé looked fragile, her right hand held her left elbow and hugged her stomach, her eyes looked as if the next blink would force them closed forever. Roxas put both of his hands on her shoulders thinking it would keep her from falling apart.

"Naminé." Roxas said.

Naminé stared back wondering what damage her Replica did, how she would fix another one of her mistakes, but he looked unscathed. She raised and placed her hands on Roxas's cheek and felt a warm light, like the twilight that blessed this town. The nightmare passed, she thought. The emptiness that resonated from before returned and she sunk her weary head into the left side of his chest. Roxas could feel the hollow echo that haunted her in the stiff weight that leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her, pressed his cheek into her head, and thought, _you'll be fine_, hoping she could hear his thought and ease the pain in her heart.

Dilan walked to the three and waited for someone to tell him what happened.

"We know you said to keep Roxas out of this, but the Roxas Replica found him, try to off him, soooo it was a little too late." Lea said.

"He's been dealt with. The body is in an alleyway near Station Heights, we can show you where." Isa said.

"Good, but there's a problem with the Naminé Replica." Dilan said. He turned his head towards the Old Mansion eyeing the shattered window at the second floor. Lea and Isa stared at it wondering what happened, while Xion stared at Roxas and Naminé.

"I destroyed the Naminé Replica and her corpse is in The White Room of the mansion. She knew that part of the building is a place I cannot enter, but I managed to fire my lance through the window to kill her. Her corpse is still in there and we must retrieve it." Dilan explained. "I do not think Lea or Isa is able to enter The White Room and I cannot ask Naminé. Xion, have you been in The White Room?"

Xion turned to Dilan. She took a few seconds to answer knowing what he was going to ask her afterwards. "I have." She said.

"You need to go inside and get the Replica's corpse." Dilan said.

If she must, Xion decided she would. But Replica or not, the sight of another dead body, lifting it and carrying the cold design, held her from saying anything. Dilan kept his eye on her, waiting for an answer.

"I'll do it."

The voice came from Roxas with Naminé behind him. Dilan looked at him with a stale face wanting nothing to do with him, then nodded. Roxas turned back towards the Mansion and walked through the door.

The White Room in Castle Oblivion was any kind of room of the castle, one Naminé never realize was a prison while the Organization decided what to do with her. When she brought The White Room into the mansion, she made it a safe place with the specification that only a few could enter. Ansem and Riku who she worked with, Sora and Kairi who she held a special bond with, and then Roxas and Xion who became more than pieces to the puzzle in repairing Sora.

Roxas opened the door to The White Room and his eyes went to the spear sticking diagonally from the broken window. He didn't see any body at first but could not see where the spear drove into the ground that was behind the long table. He walked past the table and saw it. Naminé, with black pixels still spiraling on the right side of her body, collapsed and leaning on her side in the direction of the spear that pierced through her. The spear angled her so her upper body wasn't touching the ground other than her left arm sprawled on the floor, but time let her slide where the spear met the ground. Dilan was quick, but the results were gruesome.

Roxas braced himself, this was not going to be a simple job of picking up a body. He walked to the spear and pulled it off the ground. The body fell to the ground and took the spear out of his hand pointing the handle straight at the ceiling. He needed to get the spear out of her. He kneeled closer and gripped the spear preparing to rip it out. Blonde tangled hair covered her eyes but not her mouth showing a small gap to her front teeth. It's not Naminé, he told himself. He pulled the spear but felt it wedge, the tip bladed like an arrow would need more force. He used his left hand to keep the Replica's body down as he pulled, it wouldn't budge. He cursed to himself and broke into tears when he realized the amount of force needed to release her from the spear. With all his might, he pushed Naminé's body down and pulled the spear.

Roxas threw the spear across the ground, but realized what a cursed object it was and tossed it out the broken window. He went back to the Replica's body wanting to apologize for the pain he caused her and scooped her up into his arms. Even if it wasn't the real Naminé, it was still her. Wet tears continued to fall from his face as the feeling of her hollow and lifeless body against his own kept stirring how strange and sudden life could be.

Outside the group waited for Roxas near the gate. They faced the Mansion and saw a spear fly out of the window. Dilan took a deep breath and had to wait a little longer for him to come out. Xion felt her face crease as she thought what he was doing in there.

"Do you like it here?"

Xion turned to her left and looked at Naminé who had a blank face trying to catch up on words they could had have during her time here. It was a question out of place, but Xion could use the second to take her mind off of today.

"I do. And… you went to Destiny Islands with Kairi right?" Xion asked.

"Yes."

"How is it?"

"Good."

The blank face turned as Naminé rubbed her forehead with her palm and looked down. "I'm sorry. I… can think of a million reasons for you to hate me and I'm sorry."

"No, Naminé I don't hate you. You did nothing wrong." Xion said as she turned to try and console her.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

"Girls, this is something for another time." Lea interjected. "It's been a long day and no one is thinking straight. We get through this, and you two can talk it out later."

"Yeah." Xion said. "I have class tomorrow… I'm probably gonna take a nap afterwards… how about tomorrow night?"

Naminé broke out a little smile and Xion smiled back to see someone close to tears change in a snap. "Okay." Naminé said.

Dilan unrolled a plastic bag from his pockets and walked towards the Old Mansion. Naminé saw a figure begin to emerge from the open door and turned away. Near the front steps, Dilan placed the open bag on the ground. Roxas placed the Naminé Replica in, careful that her head wouldn't hit the ground too hard. Dilan zipped the bag up and carried it over his shoulder. Roxas could not look at Dilan, his eyes wandered to his friends waiting for him outside.

"I am sorry Roxas." Dilan said.

Four friends weaved through the cluster of people waiting for the next train inside the station. The friends lost each other in the inflow of people heading towards the train and the outflow of people trying to leave the station. Roxas turned his body sideways as people also maneuvered pass him and though the mass of people looked claustrophobic from afar, he didn't bump shoulders with a single person. Every resident of Twilight Town had to learn how to navigate through a current of people if they are to get anywhere.

Roxas made it to the plaza and moved away from the wave of bodies that made a tunneled path towards Station Heights. He walked to the edge where a few residents took a break from walking on the bench or envying whoever was on the train going towards the beach. He leaned on the edge facing the crowd and waited for his friends to emerge from the station.

The brick walkway powdered with dirt and worn from the army of shoes coming through left a texture that became part of its pattern. Roxas's eyes honed in on one particular spot in the ground. It looked like a coffee stain and people walked over it without paying any mind. Around it was scratch marks that looked as if someone dragged a heavy piece of metal in erratic directions. No one paid much attention to the strange parts of the ground as the busy line of people focused on not bumping into each other. The leftovers of a vicious fight could not slow down the pace of Twilight Town with people plowing through the day before the orange twilight left. But Roxas felt himself grow slower when he looked at the dry bloodstains on the ground and wondered why it all happened.

Hayner appeared from the crowd and saw Roxas waiting by the edge. Olette appeared a second after along with Pence. Roxas who was in a daze before, looked up and threw his chin up to his friends.

"Man, this everyone getting off the same time has to change." Pence signed.

"Yeah, let's just stand here until the crowd thins away." Hayner said.

"Sounds good." Olette followed up.

The four of them leaned against the edge of the railing looking through the crowd surprise at how familiar they were all becoming and waiting for them to thin out.

"So did Xion just go home after school?" Hayner asked.

"Yeah, I think she was out all night." Olette said. "She has a cut on her cheek, two really long one. We didn't have a band-aid that could cover it all. She said while she was helping Lea and Isa build some furniture, she fell on a knife."

"Fell on a knife?" Pence asked. "I knew she was a klutz but that just doesn't sound possible."

Roxas held in a laugh wondering if Xion or Lea made up that story. Fell on a knife, he bet it was Xion.

"It's what she said." Olette shrugged.

"I don't believe it." Pence said.

"Maybe she got in a knife fight with some bad guys on her way home." Roxas said.

"Or maybe, _she _was the one knifing someone that night. Like an underground knife fight arena." Hayner said.

"Ooooh that's cool. Probably doesn't want to tell us because she knows we would show up and watch her knifing away." Pence said.

"Yeah, sounds about right." Olette said shaking her head.

"But she's okay though, right?" Roxas asked.

"She's fine. Her cut healed really fast. I think she's just sleeping in because she was up all last night."

"Good. How about we start worrying if she shows up with another knife cut across her face?"

"I guess. Don't like too many secrets between us though." Hayner said.

"Eh, maybe it's something even dumber than falling on a knife." Pence said.

The heavy clump of people turned into a lighter crowd and the four started walking. No one said anything but they were all heading towards the Usual Spot. Roxas had other plans though.

"Guys I'm actually heading home." Roxas said.

"Aww, why?" Olette asked.

"I'm meeting with someone."

"Who-"

"- Wait a second…" Hayner said.

Hayner went ahead of Roxas and walked backwards while examining his face. Roxas stared back, not realizing the anticipation for this meeting was unnatural in his face.

Hayner smirked and said, "So who is she?"

Pence and Olette jumped in with gasps and wide eyes.

"What does she look like?" Pence asked.

"Since when?" Olette asked.

"Older or younger?"

"Do we know her?"

"Chest or bum-bum?"

"What are you guys even talking about? I'm just meeting with someone, an old friend who's probably not going to stay for too long." Roxas said.

"Can we come?" Olette asked.

"Uh, no."

"Basically a date then."

"And not from school." Pence said.

"Hey easy, easy guys." Hayner said. "Give the boy some space. It's okay, Roxas can have his privacy for now. But we're gonna have to meet her eventually."

"Yeah, or we're gonna sleuth ya." Pence said.

"Pence! Although we probably just might."

"Could we at least see a picture of her?" Olette asked.

"Alright! Alright! Before she leaves, I'll bring her around." Roxas said.

"He said 'her', it's a girl!" Olette said.

"Okay then."

The four laughed and joke down Station Heights. Sometimes it was the fast life with quick trains and long line that picked them up and zoomed them around town leaving behind their worries. Other times it was this, goofed away with a slow walk or ice cream.

Roxas opened the door to his apartment and found Naminé sitting on the couch watching TV. They smiled at each other. He went to go sit next to her and put his backpack on the side of the couch.

"So what are you gonna do today?" Roxas asked.

"I spoke with Xion, she wants to meet up tonight." Naminé said.

"Oh, just between you two?"

"That would probably be best."

"What's before that?"

"Nothing." Naminé shrugged.

"Want to go somewhere?" Roxas asked.

"Sure."

"Where you wanna go?"

"Where do you want to go?"

Roxas leaned into the couch and put a foot on the table. "You know, we can't keep doing that. You're the guest, we'll go with whatever you want."

"I'm not from Twilight Town. Couldn't pick even if I wanted to. You seem to have good ideas, most of the time. Pick anywhere." Naminé said with her eyes turned to Roxas. He turned his eyes to her and she looked back at the TV in front of her before they met.

"Would you be okay if we did nothing for a little bit?" Roxas asked.

"Of course." Naminé said.

Roxas turned his body to lay on the couch. Before Naminé could get up to sit on the other couch, he flopped his head on her lap. He picked the remote off the table, resumed whatever she was watching, and loosened the button to his dress shirt of his uniform along with the tie. He handed her the remote and turned his body sideways in the direction he falls asleep in.

"Tired?" Naminé asked.

"A little." Roxas said. "I haven't asked how you were doing yet. Going through my replica wasn't… fun, and when I saw what was in The White Room… Was there a fight?"

Naminé put the remote in her left hand that was resting on the armrest to her left. Her right hand, floating in the air trying to figure out where to be, ended on Roxas's shoulder. The orchestra playing in the background of the nature documentary eased the air that the conversation would soil. She watched a camera navigate through tall grass that stopped to focus on a natural bed of flowers.

"There wasn't a fight. But… she tried to rip apart your heart." Naminé said.

"… I know. Felt it, but the pain disappeared so she must've put it back together."

"Yeah. She was hiding in The White Room, crying, I think because of what she did to you. She wanted to apologize to you."

Roxas didn't say anything. He wanted to say she's forgiven, as if the soul of the Naminé Replica merged with the Naminé he was laying on would hear it. But that wasn't how it ended, she disappeared.

"She… was jealous, if you can believe it. She was born the same as you, but different just enough that you live with a purpose when she's trying to find the reasons to look for one. She wanted to be your friend too, but you felt so far away from her. I understand though. So much… wandering makes you do things you regret later sometimes."

"It's okay. We do stupid things sometimes, she's not a bad person. And," Roxas turned his head to face Naminé. They looked eye to eye. "We really aren't too different. We all started hollow, not like the others who were born with a heart. We just have to look for it, and you have to look for it because… you deserve to exist. I thought being born as a nobody meant being born without meaning, but I was wrong. You don't have to look too hard to have a reason to be."

In Naminé's head, she spoke as if the Replica was another person, but Roxas thought as if she was speaking about a part of herself locked away and forbade any light to see. But the words her Replica longed to hear resonated with herself as well.

Naminé broke eye contact and brought her head up to watch the show. Roxas turned back to his side to do the same. Some time passed.

"If you start feeling uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll get up." Roxas said.

"Just don't drool on me." Naminé said.

By the time the show ended and the next show was waiting for the commercials to end, Roxas was asleep. Naminé let the TV play out not minding what was on. Her right hand on his shoulder rose with each deep breath he took in his sleep. His head on her lap gave her a warmth she didn't know was possible with another person. Knowing someone could feel this safe and this close with her reminded that she wasn't too different from the people she drew on her sketchpad.

Perhaps the orange light from the horizon was the suns blessing for this town, creating moments like these. Or maybe, the two, connected through a strange web of fate through different people, warmed the sun's heart shown by the twilight filling the sky.

...

A.N: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing this.


End file.
